A musical and genetic mishap in a cult film wrapper

On a normal day, “Movies You May Have Missed” is my chance to find forgotten and passed over films that I think deserve a broader audience. Today however this column will hopefully serve as a warning.

The film I’m about to review was recommended by someone close to me, someone who shares many of my own opinions on films, art and entertainment in general. I was shocked at the outcome of my acquiescence to watch this travesty. If this can happen to me, it could possibly happen to you. So consider this your warning, an intervention if you will. The following film should not be viewed by anyone...and here’s why.

In 1975 a strange film came about called “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” It was ludicrous, silly, low-budget but ultimately charming enough to become an overwhelming cult hit. In 2008 director Darren Lynn Bousman tried to replicate that success with his own horror/musical “Repo! The Genetic Opera.” Bousman tried and failed miserably.

This science fiction rock-opera horror hybrid starts with a preposterous story about a massive organ failure epidemic that turns into a financial windfall for an organ donor company called GeneCo. GeneCo somehow saves the world by producing organs for all the people who are dying. Inexplicably new organs become some kind of weird trend and people the world over sign up for elective organ transplants. Of course all this organ swapping costs money and, as seen in the unfortunate housing market crash, people sometimes can’t pay their bills. So GeneCo. is allowed to send out a repo-man to collect the organs people can’t pay for, killing them in the process. Makes sense right?

Underneath this ridiculous premise is a story of GeneCo’s founder, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino). Rotti is dying but his children are twisted wrecks of humanity and he doesn’t want to leave his empire to any of them so he begins a plan to get even with Nathan (Anthony Head), the man who stole his one-time girlfriend, and leave the company to Nathan’s daughter — that will show him!

As mind-bendingly dumb as that sounds for a story you’ve got to remember this is an opera, which means singing. Oh so much singing. Musicals have seen a resurgence lately and I’m all for it. But when every single line of the movie is sung it’s really just pushing the genre too far. I’d forgive even that if the songs and dialogue of the film had some merit. Alas “Repo” sounds as though it was written by a sociopathic ninth-grader that spends way too much time watching horror films and hanging out at Hot-Topic. There are no catchy songs, nothing to stick in your head, just a hedonistic display of unbelievable people doing unbelievable things in an unbelievable setting.

So the nauseating music and the pond-scum story play out across a stylized future meant to resemble Ridley Scott’s brilliant “Blade Runner.” Everyone dresses in gothic attire for no apparent reason other than because it looks cool — or tries to. It’s over the top and full of gruesome gore and mutilations for the sake of gore and mutilations.

It seems so bad that even most of the actors realize it as well. While watching Paul Sorvino sing what is supposed to be dialogue I could see him dying a little inside. His eyes displayed a sort of resigning to inevitable doom. Anthony Head, on the other hand, as Nathan believes he’s in a very serious piece and chews up every song, scene and second of his time on screen. But it gets better! Paris Hilton even gets a chance to shine in this debacle. Hilton plays Rotti Largo’s daughter, Amber Sweet. It’s a delightful stretch for Hilton as she plays the spoiled daughter of a very powerful man. And she gets to sing about it.

I’ve heard people say this film is original and daring. If they mean its original to dare to be this bad they may be right. So I urge you to hear my plea. If your friend recommends this movie to you refuse. And maybe you should take your friend to the doctor. Just remember organ transplants can lead to painful repossession. Or worse mind-numbingly stupid singing.



REPO! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Stars: Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head, Paris Hilton and Alexa Vega

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Runtime: 98 minutes
Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, language, some drug and sexual content

A film and band falling short of greatness

-->

After Thanksgiving Dinner with the family I went to visit some friends. We spent the evening browsing through their extensive vinyl record collection. It was a curious investigation in the lost art form of album art and a fun trip down memory lane.

The records that called loudest to me through the fog of yesteryear were the music of my youth. I’d remembered rushing home with the large cardboard and vinyl recording under my arm to the living-room record player – I only had a cassette tape deck in my room. I’d examine the album art, dissect the lyrics and immerse myself in the new sounds of 1980s modern rock. At the best times the ritual became not solitary but a social event with my childhood friends. We’d all gather around and absorb the familiar scratch, hiss and popping exclusive to vinyl recordings buried beneath the latest and greatest musical offerings.

There’s a moment early in 2007’s “Control” when Ian Curtis (Sam Riley) brings home the latest David Bowie record that replicates my experiences completely. Ian and two other friends sit quietly and listen to the new music as if it’s divine directive. Their rapt attention is shot in somber black and white. We see the smallness of their world giving way to a much greater realization brought on by musical exploration. It’s an intimate scene very close to my own youth. Unfortunately it’s about as close as the film ever comes to emotional resonance.

This comes as an incredible disappointment for me. The film is a biopic of Ian Curtis, frontman for one of my favorite bands of the early ‘80s, “Joy Division.” The lyrics, unique bass lines and Curtis’ haunting voice all combined to make “Joy Division” an intensely emotional band. I couldn’t help but feel not just the instrumentation but the ache and pull of the vocals of each song.

Fans of the group will know that Ian Curtis didn’t make it long in the music industry, having tragically taken his own life in May of 1980. “Control” tells the story of Curtis in his early years and the formation of the band and his eventual departure and it sadly does this in a way that lacks any of the essence that made “Joy Division’s” music so influential.

The film is not a total loss. The music is thankfully not recreated by the actors themselves but actual recordings of the band and it’s every bit as powerful today as it was when I had first heard it.

Riley as Curtis is a dead-ringer – no pun intended – for his real-life counterpart. His enigmatic stage antics and quiet yet forceful personality provide the roadmap for every dark and brooding musical frontman for years to follow.  Riley handles his performance incredibly well even coaxing sympathy from the viewer though the script and story indicate he may not deserve any.

More credit should be given to Samantha Morton who plays Curtis’ childhood love and later wife, Debbie Curtis. As Ian’s band rises in success and the inevitable attraction of female groupies begin to threaten the marriage Debbie remains a rock. Morton’s portrayal of someone hopelessly in love yet tragically abandoned is immensely powerful. If this was not a true story and Ian Curtis was not a famous artist I could easily see the focal point of the story being Debbie as the jilted lover. It might make a better film.

Curtis’ band mates aren’t given much time to develop into personalities or characters on their own – a strange sleight given that the surviving members did move on to become “New Order” and have a much more successful music career. We see really only enough of them to know they are there as they try to cope with the spiraling downfall of their friend and vocalist.

As an informative look into the history of one of my favorite bands “Control” fills in the blanks, dots the “i”s and crosses the “t”s. The music is as moving now as it was then but it’s not enough to elevate the film to success. The final song in the film happened to be my favorite from the band, “Atmosphere.” It’s an emotional ending that gave a taste of what the whole fim could have been. Like “Joy Division” itself, “Control” has the elements of greatness, but it falls tragically short.

Control (2007)

Director: Anton Corbijn

2 and a half vinyl discs of memories out of 5

Starring: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton and Craig Parkinson

Runtime: 122 minutes

Rated R for language and brief sexuality